Galvan v. Press
Galvan v. Press is a significant U.S. Supreme Court case centered on immigration and national security, specifically addressing the deportation of an individual based on past membership in the Communist Party. The case involves Juan Galvan, a Mexican-born alien who had resided in the U.S. for over thirty years. In 1948, he admitted to being a member of the Communist Party from 1944 to 1946 but later denied this at a 1950 hearing. This led to a conclusion by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that he was indeed a party member, resulting in a deportation order.
The Supreme Court upheld the deportation by a 7-2 vote, with Justice Felix Frankfurter emphasizing that the term "member" in the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 encompassed individuals who may not have fully understood the violent goals of the party. The Court also found that sufficient evidence supported the conclusion regarding Galvan's membership and upheld Congress's broad authority over immigration matters. Dissenting opinions from Justices Hugo L. Black and William O. Douglas raised concerns about due process implications. This case highlights the tension between national security interests and individual rights within the context of U.S. immigration law.
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Galvan v. Press
The Case: U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning deportation
Date: Decided on May 24, 1954
Significance:In the context of the Cold War, the Galvan decision upheld the authority of the U.S. government to order the deportation of persons who had been members of the Communist Party, even if there was no good evidence that they had understood the party’s advocacy of violent revolution.
The McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 included a provision for deporting any alien who was a member of the Communist Party at any time after entering the United States. Juan Galvan, an alien born in Mexico, had lived in the United States for more than thirty years. In 1948, he admitted to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that from 1944 to 1946 he had been a member of the Communist Party, but at a later hearing in 1950, he denied having ever joined the party. After a witness claimed otherwise, the hearing officer concluded that he had been a party member and ordered his deportation for that reason. Galvan’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus was rejected by both the District Court and the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
By a 7-2 margin, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld both the statute and the deportation order. Speaking for the majority, Justice Felix Frankfurter discussed three main issues. First, the use of the word “member” in the statute did not just refer to persons who had joined the party fully conscious of its violent goals. Second, the INS had obtained sufficient evidence to reasonably conclude that Galvan had been a member of the party. Finally, based on the “broad power of Congress over the admission and deportation of aliens,” Frankfurter wrote that there was no good reason to conclude that the statute violated constitutional principles of due process. Justice Hugo L. Black and William O. Douglas wrote strong dissenting opinions.
Bibliography
Belknap, Michal. The Supreme Court Under Earl Warren, 1953-1969. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005.
Stevens, Richard. Reason and History in Judicial Judgment: Felix Frankfurter and Due Process. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2008.